Escatawpa residents prepare for additional flooding

Water from the Pascagoula River flows over the lowest part of Lundy Williams Road in Escatawpa. (Photo source: WLOX News)

Orin Kendrick unloads possessions from his canoe to his truck after leaving his home on River Lodge Drive. (Photo source: WLOX News)

ESCATAWPA, MS (WLOX) -

The Pascagoula River continues to rise, threatening residents in Escatawpa. And while flood waters are relentless, so are residents left preparing for the worst.

Brandi Headrick’s house on Lundy Williams Road is not supposed to be river front. But now that it is, she’s fighting to keep it safe.

“I’m not going to evacuate, but I’m going to do my darnedest to keep the water out,” Headrick said.

She and Acia Young spent Thursday sandbagging. Their backyard is completely covered, with water is just inches from the door.

“Being an Ohio kid, we have snowstorms, not flooding,” Young said. “So, this is an amazing experience, but I don’t want it in my house. It’s nerve-wracking for me.”

Their home is one of dozens just west of Highway 613 in Escatawpa that may get water before the Pascagoula River recedes. Flood stage for the Pascagoula River is 16 feet, but it is now at 18.5 feet and expected to crest at 19.5 by Saturday.

So far, no homes have been reported as flooded, but it’s just a matter of feet; even inches.

Dixon has put bags around part of her home, and lifted beds inside on top of blocks.

“I’m a little worried about it getting into these two bedrooms, coming through the foundation," noted Dixon.

Orin Kendrick and his family live on River Lodge Dr. where the road is flooded, in one of about 30 homes on the road on stilts. However, Kendrick is getting out via a canoe. He made the quarter-mile trek to dry land where he parked his car on Prescott Road.

“Actually, when we were pulling the canoe, I felt like we were having trouble. We’re definitely out of there. We’re not going back in.”